Instant Analysis - Nov. 21
Oregon 44 ... Arizona 41 2OT
Pete
Fiutak
Everyone sort of knows about Oregon already (at least you do if you’re reading this), thanks to big games, for good and bad, against USC, Boise State, and Stanford that were on the national map, but Arizona barely registered a blip. The Wildcats lost to Iowa early on, lost to Washington on a freak play, beat Oregon State, and you didn’t really know about any of this unless you’re a die-hard Pac 10 fan.
The defense failed to come up with a key stop in the final moments of regulation, and couldn’t step up in the second overtime, but this is a fun team that can still wreak a little havoc in Pac 10 play with Arizona State and USC still to go. But this was Arizona’s moment on the big stage, and it didn’t come through. It’ll be another year as the only Pac 10 team to not go to the Rose Bowl, while Oregon showed why it deserves to be considered among the nation’s strongest teams.
Jeremiah Masoli isn’t in the Heisman hunt, but few players have been as valuable as he came through in the clutch with the runs needed, and a few brilliant throws, to keep the Ducks in the Rose Bowl hunt. Let the hype begin. December 3rd, for all the Roses and a shot at Ohio State. Oregon State at Oregon. Masoli made it happen, while Arizona proved to be more than a worthy challenger.
Richard
Cirminiello
Go ahead and take a bow, Pac-10. You put on quite a show Saturday night.
For far too long, a big chunk of the country has been under the misguided impression that the Pac-10 consists of USC and the nine dwarfs. Well, without the Trojans to carry the banner lately, the league has held up just fine. Better than fine actually. Earlier in the evening, Cal upset red hot Stanford in one of the most entertaining and meaningful Big Games in years. And in the main event, Oregon and Arizona delivered a double-overtime thriller won by the Ducks, 44-41.
In Tucson, it was vintage Pac-10 football, a flashing example why folks in the Central and Eastern time zones stay up late on Saturday nights to watch these guys operate. It was just your typical track meet, shining a spotlight on hidden—to some—stars, such as Oregon QB Jeremiah Masoli and Arizona WR Juron Criner, to name just a pair. Don’t scoff, elitist SEC fans. This was entertaining, big-play football at its finest.
As the Pac-10 race finally begins to clear up, perennial champ USC is nowhere to be found in the picture, yet the league is surviving without a hitch. In fact, with more teams competing for a spot in the Rose Bowl, the conference has been more riveting than at any point in recent memory. The show put on by Oregon and Arizona in the desert for first place drove that point home for more than 60 minutes on Saturday night.
Matt Zemek
1) The Oregon Ducks’ thermonuclear-grade offense didn’t execute with the precision or regularity that had marked its previous three games against USC, Stanford and Arizona State (there were some wobbles against ASU, but flipped on the switch with ease), but when the road to Pasadena was littered with thorny, scratchy Wildcats, an inconsistent group summoned forth championship-level composure.
How many ballsy runs did LaMichael James produce in the final minutes of regulation and in overtime? How many clutch catches did Jeff Maehl muster? How many absurdly dynamic plays did Jeremiah Masoli create from scratch? On 4th and 5, down 31-24 in the final minute? No problem, move the sticks. Ball on the Arizona 9 with 11 seconds left? No problem, score the touchdown. Bobble the snap on the game-tying PAT, Nate Costa? No problem, don’t panic and get the ball down (somehow) for kicker Morgan Flint, tying the score at 31-all. Oregon had to pass through several separate crucibles in this contest, and because the Ducks were made of sterner stuff, they’ll now have one home game at Autzen Stadium for a trip to the Arroyo Seco on New Year’s Day against Ohio State.
2) Arizona’s defense had just delivered a stone-cold stop of the deflated Ducks. The Wildcats had a first down at the Oregon 32 with a little over four minutes remaining in regulation, leading by a 31-24 count. A snake-bitten program enjoyed considerable leverage at that point, but Arizona needed to post a field goal to feel fully and firmly secure.
As most of the nation (not markets in Texas, though; shame on ABC and ESPN!) saw in the following minutes, opponents of Oregon can’t give Jeremiah Masoli the ball with the outcome in doubt. The Cats needed to push their lead to two scores and win the game with point production, not clock drainage. That’s precisely when the wheels fell off, though, for the school that will have to wait another year to make its first-ever Rose Bowl.
A lack of focus on a first-down snap from the Oregon 32 created a busted play and a five-yard loss. After a false start and a desperation heave (with bad route design), Arizona had donated the ball back to the Ducks on an interception. The rest wasn’t automatic by any means, but Oregon walked the high wire and forged a tie with six seconds to go. Mike Stoops’s team played hard and well for most of the night, but precisely when the U of A needed to go for the jugular, the boys in red let down their guard. Championship teams, as Marty Schottenheimer says in NFL Films sound clips, “Focus and finish.” Arizona took its eye off the ball, while Oregon displayed just a little more attention to detail down the stretch. That’s the fine line between the San Gabriel Mountains and the mountains of El Paso, Texas.